The Innovators & Investors Podcast
The Innovators & Investors Podcast: Connecting the Startup Ecosystem. We are on a mission to bridge the gap between founders, investors, and industry leaders across the early-stage ecosystem. By bringing together visionaries from cutting-edge startups, venture capitalists, family offices, angel investors, accelerators, and studios, we offer a platform for sharing invaluable insights, market trends, and first-hand experiences. Whether you’re an entrepreneur navigating the challenges of building a business or an investor seeking opportunities in emerging technologies, our podcast provides a front-row seat to the dynamic world of innovation and investment. Tune in to gain a comprehensive understanding of the startup landscape, stay ahead of the curve, and benefit from the collective wisdom of those shaping the future. Think you'd be a great guest on the show? Apply at https://finstratmgmt.com/innovators-investors-podcast/
Episodes
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Cyril Shtabtsovsky, founder of AlphaSemantic and an associate and advisor at Aloniq.
Cyril shares his journey from banking to venture capital and how his passion for AI led him to create AlphaSemantic, an AI-powered tool designed to help venture capitalists discover and connect with the most promising early-stage startups.
In the latest episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Sam Huang, Principal at BMW iVentures, for a candid conversation to explore the dynamic intersection of venture capital, artificial intelligence, robotics, and manufacturing innovation.
Sam shares BMW iVentures’ investment thesis, focusing on Series A and B startups across the US, Europe, and Israel, with a strong emphasis on A...
In this episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Joe Alalou, co-founder and managing director of Daring Ventures, to explore the firm’s unique investment thesis focused on scaling “human moats”—the critical interplay between human judgment and emerging AI technologies in B2B software.
Joe shares his inspiring, non-traditional journey from community college dropout to Columbia grad...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Tom Kluz, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Niterra Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of a leading global automotive supplier.
Tom shares Niterra’s unique investment thesis focused on three key verticals: automotive adjacencies, healthcare—particularly respiratory and advanced wound care—and climate tech.
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In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jenna Anderson, CEO of KiHealth, to explore groundbreaking advancements in preventive diagnostics.
Jenna shares how KiHealth is revolutionizing healthcare with the first portfolio of tests designed to detect diseases like diabetes years before symptoms appear by measuring novel biomarkers at the cellular level.
They discus...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast hosted by Kristian Marquez, we welcome Sriram Sundararajan, founder and managing partner of Hyper Growth Labs Capital and marketing faculty at Santa Clara University.
Sriram shares his extensive journey from engineer to management consultant, angel investor, and venture capitalist, emphasizing his passion for empowering startups to succeed through strate...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Anastasia Slivker, partner at global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, to explore the evolving landscape of venture capital and growth equity investments. Anastasia shares her unique global perspective on the challenges and opportunities companies and investors face amid shifting macroeconomic factors like rising interest r...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast hosted by Kristian Marquez, we sit down with Greg Martin, CEO and co-founder of Ghost Security, to explore groundbreaking advancements in application security. Greg shares how Ghost Security’s innovative AI-driven agentic model is revolutionizing risk management by continuously identifying and remediating software vulnerabilities faster and more efficien...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Dr. Matt Keener, co-founder of Blackbird Health, to explore innovative solutions in pediatric mental health care.
Dr. Keener discusses the fragmented and confusing landscape families face when seeking mental health support for their children, highlighting Blackbird Health’s hybrid virtual-first and in-person care model designe...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Alex Burch, partner at Veritas Equity Partners, to explore multifamily real estate investing in Washington state.
Alex shares the firm’s strategic focus on workforce housing in tertiary markets near Seattle, emphasizing direct ownership in specific, visible assets rather than blind funds or REITs. Dive deep into their investme...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Maggie Vo, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Fuel Venture Capital, to explore a groundbreaking approach to venture investing called “hedge venture.”
Maggie shares her unique journey from a global hedge fund manager to a venture capitalist who integrates sophisticated risk management and financial engineerin...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Amit Patel, Managing Director at Owl Ventures, to explore the rapidly evolving landscape of education technology.
Amit shares Owl Ventures’ unique investment thesis focused exclusively on EdTech companies spanning early learning, K-12, higher education, and adult or corporate learning globally. The conversation delves deeply i...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with John Glushik, Managing Director at HG Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of The Heritage Group.
John shares the unique investment thesis that blends the discipline of traditional venture capital with the strategic advantages of a 95-year-old family-owned enterprise. They explore how HG Ventures adds tangible valu...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Jay Crone, Managing Director and Venture Capitalist at Deloitte Ventures, to explore the firm’s strategic approach to corporate venture capital.
Jay shares Deloitte Ventures’ investment thesis, focusing on supporting innovative Canadian startups at Series A and B stages across key sectors like cybersecurity, climate tech,...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Sarah Applebaum, partner at Pangaea Ventures, a leading hard-tech-focused venture capital firm dedicated to investing in groundbreaking companies that advance planetary health. Sarah shares Pangaea’s unique investment thesis, emphasizing technologies in industrial decarbonization, energy transition, sustainable materials,...
In this compelling episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Keong Chan, Managing Director of Out the Back Ventures, to explore the unique world of early-stage investing in university research and deep tech startups. Keong shares the surfing-inspired origin story behind Out the Back Ventures, symbolizing a strategic approach to seeking second and third waves of innovation—not the o...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Adam Rubenstein, co-founder and CEO of Traq.ai, to explore how AI-powered conversational intelligence is transforming sales enablement. Adam shares his entrepreneurial journey, from early ventures through building and selling companies, leading to the founding of Traq.ai—a platform designed to solve persistent c...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Harry "Hale" Bullen, investment manager at PS27 Ventures, to explore the evolving landscape of venture capital focused on AI-driven investments. Hale shares PS27’s unique thesis emphasizing “sticky plumbing” software embedded deeply within B2B SaaS, FinTech, and health tech sectors, particularly in North Florida’s financial an...
In this episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Ryan Falvey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Restive Ventures, to explore early-stage fintech investing.
Ryan shares insights on how Restive Ventures focuses on being the first institutional capital source for technically skilled founders, helping them navigate the complexities of the financial services market.
They discuss the import...
In this insightful episode of The Innovators & Investors Podcast, host Kristian Marquez sits down with Vikram Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Needl.ai, to explore how AI-driven search technology is transforming enterprise decision-making.
Vikram shares the origin story of Needl.ai and its mission to help CXOs, CFOs, and CEOs cut through the overwhelming noise of disparate and complex data sources to find the pr...
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